Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 9680J

Witan Pacific Investment Trust PLC

18 June 2014

 



WITAN PACIFIC INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

Interim Management Statement - 3 months ended 30 April 2014

Introduction

Witan Pacific Investment Trust plc (the "Company") has prepared this Interim Management Statement ("IMS") to meet the requirements of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. The IMS covers the three months to 30 April 2014, together with relevant information up to the date of publication.

Investment Objective

The objective of the Company is to provide shareholders with a portfolio of equity investments in the Asia Pacific region with the aim of outperforming the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Free Index (£). 

The Company's assets are managed by Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited, Matthews International Capital Management LLC and GaveKal Capital Limited. The Executive Manager is Witan Investment Services Limited.

Multi-Manager Structure

Managers	% of Assets 31 January 2014	% of Assets 30 April 2014
Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited	47	46
Matthews International Capital Management LLC	43	44
GaveKal Capital Limited	10	10

Company Information

Epic Code	WPC
Sector	Asia Pacific - Including Japan
Trust Type	Conventional
Launch Date	30 December 1907
Financial Year End	31 January
Annual Results Announced	30 April 2014
AGM	9 June 2014

Company Statistics

	31 January 2014	30 April 2014
Gross Total Assets*	£168.2m	£163.5m
NAV per ordinary share [cum income]*	241.86p	247.73p
Share price*	213.50p	213.50p
Premium/(Discount)*	(11.7)%	(13.8)%
Gearing/(Net cash)*	3.2%	(3.5%)
Yield*	2.1	2.1

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

Performance Statistics

Cumulative Performance	3 months	6 months	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Share Price (Total Return)	0.0%	-8.4%	-14.5%	8.3%	77.8%	110.0%
Net Asset Value (Total Return)#	1.9%	-7.9%	-11.9%	5.7%	65.4%	113.3%
Index (Total Return)	-0.1%	-7.2%	-8.5%	5.8%	51.5%	101.4%

Performance Data Source: Datastream and Witan Pacific to 30 April 2014.

 #The Net Asset Value figures value debt at fair value.

The benchmark for the Company's performance is the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Free Index (£). Source: MSCI, for more information please go to http://www.witanpacific.com/legal-information

Quarterly Portfolio Report as at 30 April 2014

Asian equity markets were little changed (-0.1%) in the three months to the end of April. The Company's net asset value per share provided a total return of 1.9% which outperformed the market. Within the region, Japan lagged other markets, owing to concerns that an increase in consumer taxes in April would set back the economic recovery. China was another weak performer, held back by a slowdown in growth amid signs that the new Chinese leadership wished to discourage speculation in the property sector. At the other end of the spectrum, India's market rose by over 9%, in anticipation of the election in May, which resulted in a new government committed to economic reforms.

Internationally, the US economy stagnated during the first quarter of 2014, affected by unusually cold winter weather. Subsequent releases have suggested the underlying pace of growth is improving but the US Federal Reserve has emphasised its commitment to low interest rates, while gradually reducing the asset purchases (or "quantitative easing") that had been employed to boost liquidity when the economy was weaker.

The Company repaid its borrowings at the end of March 2014, in order to qualify for registration as a small AIFM under the new Alternative Investment Fund Managers' Directive ("AIFMD"). This afforded an opportunity to bring the allocations to our two core managers (Aberdeen and Matthews) more closely into line with each other. The benefits of the less onerous and costly requirements under the AIFMD registration regime for ungeared funds were judged to outweigh the benefits of a small amount of gearing. This decision will be kept under review, in case the circumstances change.

Geographic Breakdown*

	31 January 2014 %	30 April 2014 %
Japan	25	23
China	15	14
Hong Kong	14	14
Singapore	11	11
Australia	10	10
India	5	5
Taiwan	5	5
South Korea	4	5
Other Countries	11	13

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

Sector Allocation*

	31 January 2014 %	30 April 2014 %
Financials	25	24
Consumer Staples	14	14
Consumer Discretionary	13	13
Industrials	10	10
Information Technology	8	9
Materials	7	7
Telecommunication Services	7	7
Healthcare	5	4
Energy	3	3
Utilities	2	2
Other (investment funds)	6	7

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

Ten Largest Holdings*

31 January 2014	%
GaveKal Asian Opportunities UCITS Fund	10.2
Aberdeen Global India Equity Fund	4.0
HSBC Holdings	2.9
Japan Tobacco	2.5
China Mobile	2.4
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing	2.2
Itochu Corporation	1.9
United Overseas Bank	1.8
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation	1.7
Samsung Electronics	1.7
	31.3

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

30 April 2014	%
GaveKal Asian Opportunities UCITS Fund	10.8
Aberdeen Global India Equity Fund	3.6
Japan Tobacco	2.8
HSBC Holdings	2.5
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing	2.3
United Overseas Bank	2.0
China Mobile	2.0
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation	1.9
Singapore Technologies Engineering	1.7
Itochu Corporation	1.6
	31.2

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

Material Events

There were no material events during the period.

At the AGM held on 9 June 2014, all of the resolutions put to the shareholders were passed. Following the conclusion of the AGM, Gillian Nott after 15 years of service retired as Non-executive Director and Chairman. Sarah Bates was appointed Chairman, and Dermot McMeekin was appointed Senior Independent Director of the Company.

The final dividend of 2.4 pence per share for the year was declared and approved by shareholders at the AGM held on 9 June 2014, and will be paid on 20 June 2014 to shareholders who were on the register on 23 May 2014.

Changes to Share Capital

During the period, a total of 67,500 Ordinary shares were purchased by the Company and cancelled, and a further 36,500 were purchased during May. At the date of this Interim Management Statement, there are 65,944,000 Ordinary shares in issue representing 65,944,000 total voting rights.

The Company reported its full year results for the year ended 31 January 2014 on 30 April 2014, the details of which have been reported elsewhere.

Other than as stated above, the Directors are not aware of any significant events or transactions which have occurred between 30 April 2014 and the date of publication of this statement which have had a material impact on the financial position of the Company.

This is an interim management statement and full details of the Company including the NAV, report and accounts and factsheets are available at www.witanpacific.com.

Capita Company Secretarial Services Limited

Corporate Secretary

18 June 2014

 

END

 

 

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